27 Apr 2011

the travelettes flea market is back! like the first and the second time, you're again given the opportunity to sell your old clothes and make some holiday cash to finance your summer vacation. find all the details here.

if you want to take part and sell stuff, please send an email to yes@travelettes.net explaining which trip you're currently planning.

26 Apr 2011

a few days ago, i introduced you to Casa Camper, a boutique hotel run by the same guys who make the shoes. that's my cue for today's post, as i was asked to talk about the new Bernhard Willhelm collection for Camper this spring/summer 2011.

continueing his sucessful collaboration with the label Camper, Willhelm proved creative as usual and came up with some great models that de my shoe loveing heart beat faster.

why i like them:

i love pumps. i wear them all the time. i even run a blog i subtitled backpacking in heels! now, the downside to wearing heels when you are running around as much as i am, is that they can become uncomfortable after a while. this is precisely why i always look out for pumps with a heel that is not stiletto-thin and not too high. looking at this new Willhelm/Camper model, i can tell that they have comfort written all over them.

Camper has always been one of the first adresses where i go to look for the right pair of shoes before embarking on a journey to south east asia or mexico. i come here because i know that they specialize in shoes that combine comfort, style and durability. needless to say that this model is a must-have for the summer!

for anyone who prefers flats over heels, the collection comprises a great original sandal in uplifting colors:

when i first saw this collection i actually stopped by the Camper store in Berlin to try on the pumps, but they were sold out! i was promised that they would be back soon, though. To see the entire Bernhard Willhelm for Camper collection as well as some other desiger collaborations click here.

25 Apr 2011

summers in berlin are amazing. they are so wonderful that berliners will consistently cancel all holiday plans between the months of may and september to get the full load of summer-in-berlin-awesomeness. with the past days having been perfect sun and tempereatures, hords of locals and tourists spend their sundays pilgering to mauerpark, host to a lovely flea market, basketball, live music, open-air karaoke and a ton of other stuff to watch and marvel at.

if you're wondering where to go this summer, take these as some very good reasons to consider coming to berlin (or staying, if you're already here)

20 Apr 2011

19 Apr 2011

18 Apr 2011

i often get emails people asking me about good restaurants, bars and hotels in berlin, probably down to the fact that i live here and run a travel blog. so when i was recently asked to write a review about a relatively new boutique hotel in berlin called Casa Camper (from the same guys who run the popular shoe label), i thought i'd share with you my story with this down to earth, yet upscale place.

my first contact with them was last year, when a travel magazine i work for, asked me to photograph the concierge of Casa Camper. the friendly management was nice enough to give me a little tour around the place, showing me the rooms, explaining stuff about the concept and raving about the beds (i'm a sucker for nice hotel beds - they have those magical mattrasses that knock me out and let me wake up feeling like i've just undergone a week at a spa).

while the beds, the particular lighting and the comfy interior of bordeaux reds and wood paneling give the rooms a relaxing feel, the other speciality about this hotel, is the fact that on the top floor (where huge windows ensure an amazing view on berlin) you can find not only an arrey of ridiculously comfortable chairs....

...but also a great 24h free buffet as well as the very fantastic, so-called honesty bar. now, the honesty bar, i love. it's full of different alcohols and stuff to mix cocktails with, but instead of a bartender taking your cash, there is simply a box to drop some money in, whatever you feel is the right amount. a few of my friends who stayed at Casa Camper during berlin fashion week have told me stories that all seemed to start there....

when you're not eating, drinking or sleeping, you can leave the hotel (on foot or with one of the rental bikes provided by the hotel) and find yourself in the very middle of berlin, a neighborhood with the appropriate name Mitte. here, you'll find yourself surrounded by a ton of shops, restaurants , bars and a lot of good-looking people. actually, chances you'll even see me are not too bad, as this is where i shoot a lot of the people you find on this blog.

i actually had a look at tripadvisor, which rates this place as one of the best of over 600 hotels in berlin with over 96% of reviews being positive. definately one of the better options when coming to hang out in berlin for a few days.

ps: they have a super fancy restaurant here, too, the only place where i've ever had a 16-course meal (finishing every single one).

10 Apr 2011

9 Apr 2011

8 Apr 2011

when i was 15, i had to wear glasses. i wasn't entirely opposed to the idea as it was only for 6 months and glasses were just in the process of establishing itself as an it-item, unrivalled by most other accessories. it was purely a matter of finding the right pair that would provide me with a sexy librarian look or something along those lines. in the end i opted for a pair with small oval glasses and a thin black frame. they worked well with my face and i got a lot of compliments. so far so good. the difference between wearing glasses as a fashion statement and wearing them because you can't tell a dog from a cat without them is that in the second case, you need to worry about more than just a cute pair of frames.

during my short-lived career as a wearer of glasses, i remember feeling constantly annoyed with the limited view resulting from the frames. as a photographer i add a mental frame around the images that i see, however they don't come with brown or black metal wrapped around. living with glasses was similar in a way where i was constantly reminded that i was wearing glasses because i could never quite ignore the black frame i was seeing through.

when Silhouette, a label from austria, that's famous for their frameless glasses, recently asked me to write a product review about their new line, i remembered that history i have with frames and it seemed like a good thing to spend some time thinking about glasses again. Silhouette used to focus on mainly classic designs (somehow i cannot shake the image of my attractive former dentist who was sporting a pair of these) but has now launched a new collection named Chrystals with a somewhat more glamourous edge.

a guilty pleasure but pretty fun is their virtual mirror, letting you upload a photo of yourself to try on all the different models from the new collection. i love this sort of stuff:

kind of works, doesn't it? i like that spark of added sophistication. the day i'll have to start wearing glasses again, i'll definately know where to look.

3 Apr 2011

2 Apr 2011

1 Apr 2011

i just got back from mexico and after 6 weeks in the sun i am delighted to find my hometown of berlin to be sunny and warm with lots of spring feelings in the air. needless to say that i find myself worrying about just one thing and that is - shopping. new seasons call for new clothes and i am clicking my way through online-shops in search of chic and summery styles.

berliner fashion label extraordinaire JOOP! has a lovely spring/summer collection for this year with lots of gorgeous prints and delicate materials. one option is of course to browse the JOOP! online shop, but more fun is to take part in their current competiton in which you can win an outfit or various accessories. to see which ones and the (simple) question you need to answer to in, just go to the JOOP! facebook page and "like" it.

hint: to answer the question you just need to watch new campaign video.